house on the marsh
Every house deserves its small extra space…
- House on the Marsh in Yearbook, Czech Architecture 2011-2012 (Michal Kuzemenský)
House on the marsh is a private lodge located in the mountainous district of Jizerske hory in northern Bohemia. It is a family retreat hidden in marsh and forests, which provides just great space to gather for all three family generations.
The house
The architecture of the house had to follow strict building regulations including the house geometry or specific colors or materials which were dictated by local authorities, to reach traditional vernacular architecture.
Simple and traditional form of the house with tall gabled roof is repeated in unique long dormer window which serves as a special extra space with splendid view of the valley. Dark green vertical cladding protects the supporting timber structure of the house.
In the winter one might enter the lodge under the prolonged eaves that roof southern glazed veranda, which perfectly serves also for sunbathing or preparation of all ski equipment.The sliding glass could be adjusted according to the weather conditions. The northern veranda is a storage for firewood.
The interior
The traditional green tile stove is anchored to the centre of ground floor living space. This robust stove can perfectly heat up the whole lodge during the winter, but works also naturally as an inner magnet of the room, cause it is a warm bench, divan or a cooker. The living room is divided by the central stove into several parts and small corners, there is a kitchen, dining table, seating niche and inside firewood storage under the stairs. The living room is southern oriented and opens towards sunny veranda. Its space continues vertically above the dining table up to first floor living gallery. There are 3 bedrooms each with its own bathroom, two of them are upstairs and the main bedroom for the oldest generation of skiers is situated in the ground floor next to the living room.
The lookout dormer aka „lolling space“
The attic gallery is a place where to just lounge about, after whole day cross-country skiing, while enjoying the advantage of wonderful view from the hammock or from the long dormer window which we started to call „the lolling space“. It is an extra space, an independent typological kind with the only purpuse – to loll. We believe that every house deserves its own extra space.
